"God's House of Prayer"

 

“God’s House of Prayer”

 

During our ministry in New Hampshire we showed a video of Pastor Jim Cymbala bringing a message on “The House of Prayer”. He was well qualified to address this subject given the emphasis placed on prayer by the church he led, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, where the weekly prayer meeting brought in overflow crowds. He observed in his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, that God never said “My house shall be called a house of preaching” but He did say “…My house shall be called a house of prayer….” (Isaiah 56:7, emphasis added, quoted by Jesus when He cleansed the temple in Matthew 21:13).

The inner area of the Jews’ tabernacle and temple had two parts: the Holy Place, where the priests carried out their God-ordained responsibilities; and the Holy of Holies (or Most Holy Place) which was only entered annually by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement and contained the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing God’s presence with yet separation from His people. A veil divided the two sections. It was this curtain that “…was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51) when Jesus died, allowing God’s people to approach Him apart from an earthly mediator (“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus.”—1 Timothy 2:5, NLT), making it possible for us “…to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body….”(Hebrews 10:19-20). So while it’s certainly good and proper to gather in a building or anywhere else and for a godly person to lead in prayer each of us can come to God directly because “…(our bodies are temples) of the Holy Spirit….” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

In 2001 Karen put these truths to music in this way:

“My house is a house of prayer; Approach My Throne of Grace,

Come to Me, come boldly; Seek My face.

Empty yourselves before Me; Let My presence invade your soul.

You are the temple of My Spirit; You are, you are, you are My house of prayer.

We are the temple of the Spirit; We are, we are, we are His house of prayer.”

Am I/are you providing a fitting house of prayer to honor the One to whom I/we pray?

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan